January 16, 1644 Earthquake: Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia on January 16, 1644 at 10:00 UTC.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- January 16, 1644
- Time
- 10:00 UTC
- Place
- Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.380° N, 72.650° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- Very many (over 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
16 January 1644, at approximately 5 am local time (10 UT) a strong earthquake destroyed almost completely the historic Villa de Pamplona. Magnitude 6.9. 20 dead in Pamplona. Victims in Trujillo (reference #12868)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- February 26, 1849, Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- July 29, 1967, Colombia
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- April 18, 1974, NE, Cepita, San Andreas, Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
- December 31, 1868, Robador,simacota,barichara DE Cabrera, Colombia
- February 17, 1869, San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- March 10, 2015, Antioquia, Santander, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1644The 1600sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 954.